St.Lawrence Church Attur.

St. Lawrence Shrine or Attur Church is in existence since 1759, is said to have a history of miracles. Its yearly feast held in the 3rd week of January which called as Attur Jatre / Attur Fest or Attur santmari

Christians over here suffered captivity under Tippu Sultan during the period 1784-1799 A D. The parish church in those days was situated at a place about 7 kilometres away from the present church. Tippu demolished that church and Karkala Christians after the freedom from captivity, built a Church with thatched roof somewhere on the way to Nakre in the year 1801 under the leadership of a Goan priest.

When the church was too old to be used, devotees of St Lawrence accompanied by a Goan priest went about in search of a suitable site carrying with them a one-foot wooden Miracle statue of St Lawrence. They were praying St Lawrence to guide them in the choice of a place for raising a church in his honour. They crossed the RamaSamudra of Karkala and coming down the woods of ‘Parpale hills’ they reached Attur. Then they saw a spring flowing at the bottom of the hill. As they were tired and thirsty they placed the statue of Saint on the ground and quenched their thirst. when they thought of resuming the journey, they could not lift the statue, it was firm and immovable on the spot they kept. Then the priest decided to build the church on that very spot, Later they built the church in the year 1839, and soon became a place of pilgrimage.

In the year 1895 the parish priest, Rev Fr Frank finding so many devotees of St Lawrence flocking to this church and claiming to have received innumerable favours from the saint fostered the devotion further and organised novenas and prayer services making them more and more attractive. In the year 1900 Rev Fr Frank Pereira had the present church built facing the north. This church was blessed and inaugurated on 22 January 1901 by the Vicar General, Very Rev Mgr Frachetti.

Parish Priests served in this Parish :

As per available records the following priests have rendered their valuable service and served the people of this Shrine: